One of the Last
by Marvelous.Mirana.of.Marmoreal
Summary: Mirana is a lot of things- kind, loving...stubborn. When Tarrant tells Alice of her lost love, will she go out and find him? Will he be alive? And, most importantly, what might happen if Alice is wrong? -possibly 3 or 4 or 5 chapters long- Slight Halice
1. Chapter 1

**Just a quick note****: I watched the Royal Wedding! Not at 3 in the morning, but the later re-showing ;) Kate's dress was BEAUTIFUL! And the Queen reminded me of my grandmother, but she didn't seem exactly…enthusiastic. Prince William looked so freaking happy once they were in the carriage. It was a fairy-tale wedding :)**

**On to the story! This is just a real quick conversation between Tarrant and Alice about Mirana. It shall continue into one more chapter…possibly two more, but IDK how long it'll take ;)**

**Go figure.**

**BUT! This is actually has slight Tarrant/Alice ;) Sighhh, breaking my own little tradition. So go crazy…have fun…because you never know…this could be the last xD**

**One of the Last**

"If you'll excuse me, friends, I must be going. I have far too many documents and letters to attend to this evening. Please, forgive me for ending our lunch so early." She stood, as well as the other guests, who curtsied and bowed to her. She smiled at Alice and winked, letting her know that she never got tired of the formalness of this all.

The lunch ended there, very important people exiting the room and going back to whatever work they had to finish. The last two people in the room were the Royal Hatter and the Queen's Champion. Most people in Underland knew them as Tarrant Hightopp (or even The Mad Hatter) and Alice Kingsleigh. They scooted two chairs next to each other and, as Tarrant drew his arm around her shoulders, Alice leaned her head on the side of his chest.

Alice sighed when she looked at the place where her friend had been sitting. "Tarrant, why is Mirana always so busy?" After hearing the question, it took all of Tarrant's control not to laugh at such an idiotic question!

"Surely, Alice, you've got a Queen up in the Aboveland! Queens are busy- tending to papers, documents, giving speeches, building and rebuilding their land, keeping an eye on their people, family, friends- it's an unforgiving job! Of course, poor dear, she never complains; does all that work, and not a peep out of her. Bless her kind heart- she never gets a break. Day in and day out, she's working, working, working. Often, one of the last lights on in the palace is hers because she hasn't filled her quota for the day." Alice's confusion gently subsided as she got a new perspective on the situation.

"I believe that she deserves something that makes her happy. I suppose one can't be too enthusiastic when one's family has all but disappeared. The Red Queen was banished, her parents were killed, and I won't assume that she has a brother. What about suitors? Has she any?"

It was Tarrant's turn to sigh as he closed his eyes, remembering all the suitors she used to have. The number of suitors had slowly trickled down to one or two each month, not a good number. But Mirana was smart- she would marry for love, not duty.

"Alice- that woman deserves love more than anyone else; well, besides you, but you know what I mean. She's so kind, so wise, so brave…so lonely. And she's bloody stubborn, too," he added, spitting the words. He had come to her with tons and tons of suitors, all of whom she turned down. "She'd had one love- her Champion, Erik. She loved the man with all her heart, only to have the Jabberwocky steal his life," he said, sadly

"I doubt he's dead, Tarrant. Maybe he was just injured and someone took him in. Perhaps he-"

"Now, love, don't go into that. And especially- _especially_- don't go telling the Queen that. She'll get her hopes up and, if what you're saying is false…then we'll have quite the problem on our hands- one larger than Underland itself; one certainly more dangerous than the Jabberwocky," he warned her.

"And that problem is?" Alice inquired, her curiosity growing by the millisecond.

"The Queen."


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, so I received a would-be death threat if I didn't continue this immediately xD**

**Haha, they meant no harm- it made me laugh :D**

**And, to Niphuria, that is a very good question. Why does Alice doubt that Erik is dead?**

**Let's move forward!**

**One of the Last**

Alice couldn't bring herself to sleep that night. She tossed and turned, her mind filled with images of a man that she'd never seen before. Some odd feeling that exploded deep in her mind told her that this man was Erik. She didn't know why she was experiencing this, but she assumed it had something to do with her earlier thoughts.

The man was indeed handsome. His hair was shoulder length and black in color. His face was soft like a young boy's, but certain features showed he was older. His eyes were light blue and his skin was very pale- just like Mirana's. He was tall and muscular, dressed in armor similar to what hers looked like, but his had some differences. For one, it was all white- not silver. The helmet was shaped like a chess piece. Alice didn't know much about chess, but she was almost positive that it was the Knight piece- the one shaped like a horse.

Mirana, though in a room far across the palace, had similar sleeping troubles. Hers, of course, didn't worry her- they came every night. She would lie in the large bed, completely alone and utterly upset. Sometimes she would cry, other times she would be silent. She was able to keep up the façade during the day, but once she was alone and surrounded by his memory, the whole act failed.

That night at midnight would've begun the day of their 10th anniversary. So as she layed in her bed with her crown on the bedside table, her eyes were wide open and unseeing. Her mouth hung open a little while the horrific images filled her brain. At first, it was a happy and sunny day- a horror in its own. The next snapshot was of the Jabberwock, and the next of its electric fire. It faded into a picture of Erik, trying to be heroic as he took on the furious creature. And the next…it was just the Vorpal sword, sticking out of the ground as she rode away.

_Why hadn't I gone back? _she asked herself. _Why did I leave? _ They were the same questions over and over, every year. And then she erased them with memories of the good times they'd had.

She remembered when she first met him at a ball; her first as Queen Mirana. And then when he asked for her hand in marriage- her father had almost said no until he knew that Erik was the Champion. She saw their wedding in scenes- the walk down the aisle, the vows, the kiss, the party, and even the honeymoon. Lord, how she had loved that honeymoon.

They had traveled all the way to Queast in order to be near a lake that was the most beautiful in all of Underland at the time. They'd made love several times and had enjoyed the scenery near the cottage they'd stayed in.

After reliving the happiest moments of her life, she remembered one more sad one. She'd found out she was pregnant- how happy they had been was almost inconceivable. And yet, merely 6 months later, she'd gone into premature labor and they lost the poor baby. Erik had done the stupidest things in the world to cheer her up. Little did he know that he'd be dead in a month.

That was because that next month was the Horevendush day- 9 years ago. It felt like it had just happened yesterday to poor Mirana. She cried her eyes out as the first cycle of images replayed again and again.

"Dear Lord- why have you done this to me? Have I done something sinful? Have I not followed your laws? Did I do something wrong on that day? Did I forget to do something? If I had, I hadn't meant to- I swear it! First you take my childhood friend, then my baby, and then my husband! Why are you treating me as the devil?" she shouted out to her ceiling. She knew that no one was bothered by this- it happened 3 times a year: on her wedding anniversary, the day she met Erik, and on the anniversary of his death. The castle inhabitants were no longer bothered by this.

But Mirana forgot one thing- Alice had never stayed the night in the castle on one of these anniversaries.

Alice heard the shouts and sobs from all the way across the palace. The halls were loud and echoed the noise, sending it right to the door of her room. She had given up on sleep hours ago, so she decided to investigate the noises.

She pulled on her robe and stepped into some slippers, careful to be as quiet as possible. She gently opened the door and slipped out of her room. She walked slowly down the hall, receiving "Good morning, Miss Alice," from plenty of other people who had also not gone to sleep. She sped up, though, as the yelling got louder. Surprisingly, no one stopped her. It was amazing how many creatures, plants, and humans were awake at this hour!

When she reached the door of the room from which the sound was coming, Alice had to look twice at the engraving on the door- it was a large WQM in an oval, covering the top half of the door.

And earsplitting scream made its way through the door, at which point it turned into a heart wrenching cry. Alice shoved the doors open and looked frantically around the room for her friend. A crash came from another part of the large bedroom. Alice ran towards it, hoping with all her being that Mirana was there as well. The irony of that hope crossed her mind for a millisecond before she saw the shadow of a person huddled in the corner.

She approached it slowly, not sure whether or not Mirana was completely in her right mind. She was shaking and holding her knees to her chest, surrounded by pieces of glass. Alice flicked on a nearby light switch and her friend's head jerked towards her.

Alice bent down low to the ground and shifted so that she was on her hands and knees. Mirana's hair was a wild mess and her skin was paler than normal…if it could be considered normal even when it was her usual paleness. Her eyes were dark and angry, but they showed signs of loneliness as well. Her nails dug into her own skin, but Alice believed it to be subconsciously done. Mirana scared her, honestly. She was sure what to make of the situation.

"Mirana, my friend, you need to calm down," Alice began, a bit shakily. She started humming a song that Erik was singing in her mind. She moved a foot closer, and then another six inches. Mirana calmed just slightly- her hands were dropped by her sides and her face was devoid of all expression. If Alice had to describe the look on her face, she'd probably have said that Mirana was shocked, like she was looking somewhere far away.

Alice took the chance and rushed to her friend's side, engulfing her in a warm embrace. At her touch, Mirana broke down and clung to Alice, sobbing into her shoulder.

Not even an hour later, Alice had the Queen tucked into bed with a cup of extremely sweetened tea. It was only seconds before Mirana launched into the tale about Erik.


End file.
